Sunday 6:45pm, ITV1
Say what you see. JUST DON’T LOOK INTO HIS EYES.
Catchphrase is back with Stephen Mulhern as the new host.
We went and saw the pilot, and also an episode of the show being made.
The spirit of the original is there, as indeed is the theme tune. Don’t like the new graphics, although I do quite like the set. Don’t think the elimination round really adds anything, except an excuse to extend the show fifteen minutes on the cheap. To answer your burning question yes, losers get to keep their money. The new version of the M Square is a bit rubbish.
As ever, it might all change in the edit although in this case we’re pretty confident what we’ve seen is what we’re getting. I think it will initially do OK business.
Agree the elimination round is pointless – could easily be 30 minutes and then surely much more useful to ITV as a schedule filler when required (they should record some 30 minute regular Family Fortunes too!). If they must start with three no reason why the three can’t be kept until the end of the second round.
Tne end game is a bit anti-climatic – and doesn’t really penalise wrong answers.
I don’t think I’ve got anything to say about this I haven’t already said previously to be honest. It was fine. Some of the format tweaks are unnecessary. Mulhern’s competent albeit not quite convincing.
In its favour, it does rattle on at quite a pace.
The prize money was incredibly (a little too) generous. I liked the original where Roy would stick his hand in his pocket and magically discover he had a couple of grand in his pocket going spare.
Like the new opening; an abrieviated homage to the original, and a fairly nice remix of the original theme.
Dislike the BoaWJP opening, but I knew I would and didn’t dislike it as much as I expected to. I understand the original tended to be uneven between the two contestants, and they needed to add something to make it 45 minutes long (if they /insist/ on doing that), but couldn’t they have eliminated someone half way through the old style gameplay to create the same effect (And possibly more reliably avoiding a blowout to boot, though it worked for that this week)
Spot prizes in Catchphrase? That’s… Different. Not entirely sure what to think of it, aside from it being an easy way of shoehorning in product placement, but… No matter.
Mulhern’s as competent as he usually is, and gets good report with studio audience and contestants alike, although I think he’s yet to mature as a presenter. Give it a few more years of various formats, though…
All in all, very enjoyable and works at 45 minutes nicely, although I disagree with some tweaks made. At it’s core it’s still Catchphrase, and still works. (I miss the amount for the bonus catchphrase counting down each attempt at it by £10 then (presumably £50 now) as it gets easier most of all.
Spot prizes were in the Nick Weir series as well, but seemed to be rather deemphasised. I get the feeling that the elimination round is there to given them a part’s worth of content without any prize money changing hands.
Still works though, even if the new animations remind me a little too much of those ‘specially commissioned projects’ used in Krypton Mountain era KFac.
I’d also like to point out some slightly dodgy adjudication seemed to eliminate a contestant – “tea for two” wasn’t acceptable, but “dinner for two” was?
I think tea for two as a phrase refers to the beverage – A pot of tea for two, rather than the meal.
I do wonder if they’d have accepted my Table for Two, however.
the new animations remind me a little too much of those ‘specially commissioned projects’ used in Krypton Mountain era KFac.
*giggle* I haven’t thought about those in years! But yes.
Overall I thought it was fine. I have lots of little niggles about it but on balance they are so small, niggly and fanboyishly picky that it would probably be embarrassing to be associated with them.
It makes me wonder how exciting the first episode of the show must have been, first time around. We’d never have seen anything quite like it before! I remember it being billed as “high-tech”, and in context that stands up in court.
And here it is!
http://youtu.be/o0RlmLuMP_s
I still believe the first few years of Catchphrase have a hi-tech feel unmatched by much else.
They really push the boundaries of prizes on that first ep. The values for the next series were considerably lower.
That would be the absolute cutting edge of video graphics at the time, using the US tech (Commodore 64s or Amigas, can’t remember for the first series). Probably some of the US animations too (seeing as ‘Herbie’ and Mr Chips are identical characters, no-one would have noticed at that point).
In Greg Dyke’s memoir, comments are made about how TVS were panicking about the cost of the computers and mixing hardware should Catchphrase not go to series. That said, the same tech ended up in Concentration, so they needn’t have bothered.
Definitely the US animations, they had to be couriered from the US and there’s a famous story about the time they ran out.
And suddenly any misgivings I may have had about the removal of the bell have evaporated. That seemed to come down to reflexes.
They’ve basically replaced the bell with about 5-10 seconds of camera panning lead-in anyway. Who needs an artificial time extending device when you can just have your puzzle unsolvable for a while?
The ironic thing is, that it probably took twice as long to produce the orginal opening sequence, that it takes Component to render the question animations on last nights show.
The original opening sequence is credited to Electronic Arts, interestingly, of FIFA Soccer on Playstation fame.
Not just FIFA, but also the inevitable Second Video Game Crash of 2014!
I enjoyed watching that again. (Inevitably, doesn’t Roy Walker look young?) Perhaps my favourite part – and there might be a good explanation as simple as an editing SNAFU – is the part at 17:50-ish where the contestant who is, ahem, somewhat behind rings in without waiting for the bell, and they just let her get away with it.
There’s another good bit quite early on where the scores on the desks are playing up and they just leave it in.
It’s a different world really.
Just over 5m including +1, which I don’t think is too bad at all.
Something I’ve just thought of – I think the BoaWJP would feel less… Out of place… If there was something available to the loser of it – They’re rightly not doing the modern “Only give prizes to the winner” thing, so why not throw in something for the first to get eliminated? Say, a case of wine or some such (A bit Play Your Cards Right of a consolation prize, perhaps, but…)
Opening show notes:
* Title sequence is reminiscent of the 1980s graphic. Don’t expect this to be an accident.
* Elimination round is a blatant bolt-on.
* Diminishing returns for the Super Catchphrase may have gone, but the returns in later rounds are much greater – up to nine phrases at £100, up to nine at £200, whatever time’s left at £500.
* Spot prizes are sponsored, I reckon they only exist because they’re sponsored. (For reference: OFCOM doesn’t consider sponsored prizes as product placement).
* Stephen trying to make a persona of his own, not a million miles from Roy Walker, but sufficiently far away to be himself.
* I agree with the idea of a consolation prize, even if it’s as tacky as a plastic Mr. Chips ornament.
To this viewer, ITV seems to be retreating into its comfort zone. They’re bringing back old entertainment shows rather than creating new ones. Catchphrase, like Saturday Night Takeaway, is perfectly well done, there’s a little progress and a lot of familiarity, and it’s all absolutely fine in its own way.
It’s just that I have no compelling reason to prioritise this over any other show, and every reason to watch Five Minutes and Cor Cymru. It’s likely to be one-and-done for me.
Right, sub anorak question first, was that Studio 1 at ITV London, using the lower tier of the audience seating?
Looked like it.
My thoughts.
Yes, Mr Chips is creepy, and some of the animations are just plain weird. Technology progress, apparently.
A nice faithful remake of the original (STV must have seen what Sky did to Blockbusters last year and felt the need to lay off the reformatting).
Still not sure about Steven. Hopefully he’ll grow into the role as the series wears on (assuming they are being screened in taping order). Felt some of the put downs and turns to camera for audience reactions were only time padding.
Like others, the elimation round really only exists so SCS can show us another sofa in and out of an extra break.
Do like the respective podium lights colouring the outline of the question screen. Very nice.
Can’t see what the development team were thinking with the end game though. Having the holiday prize in the centre, almost invites people with no interest in winning one to take the longer route to the £50,000.
It’s catchprase as you know it, but with a slightly colourful new suit – but feel sorry for development teams coming up with new ideas only and getting knocked back, only for this to turn up yet again – no matter how good the remake is.
7/10.
You don’t actually have to pick interconnecting squares for the pyramid, as such it feels like a throw back to the M Square but a bit crap because why wouldn’t you go for it?
I can’t remember which studio it was filmed in I’m afraid.
I do agree the pyramid endgame is anticlimatic- I would have kept the 5×5 board, and have it be similar to what they did the later series of the original run with some slight changes- 1K for each correct answer (except the M square, which would be worth 5K), get any 5 squares or more you double your winnings (so you’d play the whole 60 seconds even if you did get 5), get a Money Line (complete one of the four lines going through the M Square), you win the 50K.
I do like the show though- I agree the first round is a bit pointless (let all three play a first 100/500 round, then tossups for 200 until time runs out in round 1, top two go to another 100/500 round, then 200/1000, then 500 tossups.) Nice way to finish off a weekend.
Oh look, it’s Series 3 (or Series 20 if you wish). Same as it ever was.